10 Day Hair Challenge: Style #2

One thing I'm learning about my 10-Day Hair Challenge is that everyone's hair is different. Neither of my styles have looked exactly like the ones from the tutorial, but they still provide enough of a change of routine to make it worthwhile.

Today I did hairstyle #5. The vlogger's hair seems to be a little less curly than mine, so whenever I do her cool side styles, most of the actual style gets lost in a sea of hair.

Front view of side twists before I pinned them back.

Final look!

 As you can see, the actual details from the style aren't that visible. But the effects were more than I expected. Wearing my hair in a different style, even if noticeable only to me, gave me a feeling of purpose and of rediscovery. One thing I've learned so far from my move to LA is that while your interior will never change (both for good and bad, but I'm stressing the good), your exterior is something you can always reinvent and should present with purpose and bravery. It's a canvas on which to design the reflection you wish to present to the world. Some wear "Picasso," others wear "Kahlo," but those who seem the most put-together know that the body is a work of art and should be adorned accordingly.

I didn't expect that this 10-Day Challenge would result in soul-searching revelations. I merely wanted to stop being lazy and try something new. But, of course, that's when revelations usually occur.

Side note: Today is the day of the Ferguson verdict so I feel slightly shallow for posting on such an awful day. My heart is definitely with my brothers and sisters as we continue to demand that our voices be heard.

10 Day Hair Challenge: Style #1

A few days ago I spontaneously visited a friend in my building who had just put on flexi rods. She was a little embarrassed, but as a fellow "natural hair sister," I understand that our unflattering hair care regimen often leads to quite flattering results. Not to mention, her enthusiasm to try something new gave me a kick in the pants, as I've been donning the same two hairstyles for a coupe years now.

I checked out a YouTuber that the friend recommended, Mo Knows Hair, but decided that at least in regards to that particular video, the styles were a little too sophisticated for "little ol' me." But it did prompt me to further my search, and I came across this video of "10 Styles for Short Curly Hair." I'm guessing this vlogger is in high school, but her "cutesy" styles definitely fit my personality. I scanned through the video and decided to assign myself a 10-Day Challenge: I'll try each of her 10 hairstyles over a period of 10 days. Granted, I may not actually do them 10 days in a row, but I'm definitely committed to trying all of them. (Though two are my go-to styles, so those will be cheat days.)

Without further ado, here is Day #1 (Hair Style #4).

It's hard to tell, but this style has two side french braids that come together in the back. For some reason it's much easier to do a normal french braid than a side one, and the style looked good until my hair dried lost about 3 inches of length. But, a good style to keep toying with and to use maybe on Day 6 (the number of days between washes, where with each subsequent day the hair has more essential natural oils, i.e., is less frizzy).

Stay tuned for the next new do!

DIY Cost-Cutting Haircuts

Lately I've been short on cash, so I've been doing what I can to cut costs. One of those cuts has been literal. After a full year of postponing a haircut until "the next paycheck," a few days ago I took matters--and scissors--into my own hands.

Following the growing advice of mixed race self-taught hair gurus, I've been putting my hair in about 10 to 15 twists each night, securing each with a hairband. Despite non-mixies assuming the twists create the curl, we mixies know the twists help keep our rebellious strands from turning into dreadlocks. On this particular evening, I grabbed my hair cutting sheers, usually reserved for "fairy knots," and cut the scraggly inch off of each twist below the hairband. This took all of five minutes, if that.

Granted, because my hair was in its twists, I had no idea if my self-grooming would turn out to be successful. But luckily, the next morning when I undid the twists, added my usual touch of water and my large touch of conditioner, those perfect curls sprang into a perfect line across my back. Success!

Now, I would be a fool to suggest that anyone follow my example unless, like me, they feel the risk is worth the possible blunder. But, as my mom says my grandma says, "Curly hair hides a multitude of sins," one being the "sin" of the hasty, unprofessional DIY.

Side note: Always angle your scissors as you cut.

Okay, so this obviously isn't a real photo, but you get the idea, courtesy of bitstrips.com

Will You Date My Hair?

Finding a good stylist is like trying to find a good boyfriend. You want someone who "gets" you, who knows what they're doing when they touch you, and someone who makes you feel beautiful instead of ruining what beauty you already have.

I have no trouble rejecting men. I can usually tell within five minutes of a date if I'm going to like the guy or not. There's that instant chemistry (or lack thereof) that speaks volumes. If he's an hour late, that's one strike against him. If he forgets his wallet, that's another. If he pressures me to get into his car I know to run the other way, and if he wants me to drive an hour to his house on the second date with no plan other than coming over, I know not to get behind the wheel.

What's funny is that this confidence and intuition doesn't translate when I'm on a salon chair. I can pour out my sob story about how a previous stylist refused to do my hair or cut off uneven chunks at random, but every time I get in a new salon chair I'm convinced that this stylist will know exactly what to do. And it's not that I don't do my research. I just seem to be destined to have horrible stylists. Maybe they should make therapy sessions for people who have codependent relationships with stylists and who always seem to "choose the wrong one."

Last Tuesday I went to a new stylist. This was an inevitable change as I'd moved from the Pacific Northwest back to California. I found her salon on Yelp as one that got high recommendations for working with natural black hair. My first faux pas was in not making sure I got the stylist recommended on the site, but instead booked an appointment with the one who answered the phone.

After

I got in her chair, chatted her up, and entrusted her with one of my most valuable and only painstakingly-replaceable assets. I went in for a highlight touch up at my roots and a simple cut. Four hours later all I'd received was the highlights. Though my previous highlights were only 6 or 7 small sections, this stylists kept going and going with what must have been close to thirty. My hair began to sizzle a little under the dryer, but I chalked this up to it being hotter than the one I'd been under at my previous salon, and fell asleep. After the normal 30 minutes under heat, I got my rinse, paid my money, and dashed out the door to work. Once I got to work I realized that the "copper" highlights were bright orange/pink. Once I got home I realized that I'd also been partially balded. Not only that but she'd charged me $20 more than what she quoted me over the phone and I came to regret my $15 tip.

To make a long story short, I called her and she discovered that she wasn't supposed to put me under the dryer. She offered me a partial refund and a reconstructor treatment and then cancelled my treatment half an hour before it was scheduled because she wanted more sleep. Later that afternoon we each pulled up in front of her salon and I felt like I was in the middle of a drug deal as she handed me the cash. Once she saw my hair she insisted it was copper ("copper is orange, just like your [bright] orange sweater") and proclaimed my hair healthy even though it had been entirely sapped of natural oils and lay as dead on my head as if I had put my finger in a light bulb. (Yes, for kinky curly haired girls, "dead" does not mean flaccid.)

I took my partial refund to a Regis which is the chain of my previous stylist in Washington. I had her on the phone at the new salon, and my stylist said to run away as fast as I could, which I wasn't surprised about as the woman took one look at my hair and didn't want to have anything to do with it. Not because of the color but because my hair is so thick and curly. My stylist's sentiment was reinforced when the woman behind the counter lost my hair band, searched the entire salon and couldn't find one, and then tried to give me a rubber band instead. In a salon.

I'm reading tragic mulatta literature for a graduate class and so I'm immersed in mulattas who do not feel like they fit in either white or black society (though by the end they often choose black). I'd like to say that this double-consciousness is long gone, only, through my discussions with other mixed-race women--and black women who have decided to go natural--we're finding that there is almost no one out there who is willing or able to touch our hair. I for one I have decided that I will give myself a haircut, and that the only other person I'll entrust with scissors is my Washington stylist when I next go up for a visit. She is the only white person who will cut my hair (yes, I've been turned away that many times!) and black stylists always fry it to pieces because that's they only way they know how to deal with their own hair.

After a period of being worried that I would have to chop off my mane and start all over, home care, a well-placed hair wrap and a little bit of patience looks like it will slowly bring my hair back to a normal state. As for my mentality, stylists will now have to meet me, woo me, and prove their worth before I'll hand myself over.